Ovar'coming Together Bingo Benefit

 Like so many other people, my life has been affected by cancer. So, when a friend asked me if I would like to donate to an event that benefits ovarian cancer awareness, I happily agreed. I suggested sugar cookies decorated like the awareness ribbon. The committee loved the idea, and wanted one for every place setting!

 I chose three different designs: detail in sanding sugar, Sugarbelle's 20-second icing method to add some depth, and a piped detail.

I need to find a better home for my ice cream maker- it's taking up valuable cookie space!

My bar is not large enough for 400 cookies!

My wonderful sister-in-law helped me to package all of the cookies, and only one broke!

We are ND

"The Shirt" was released today. In anticipation of another great season, I'm sharing the National Championship cookies that I made a few months ago...

 

Ivy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

We made these cookies in my Intro to Baking class, and they quickly became my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. The bread flour gives them nice height and a wonderful texture.

I was asked to make cookie favors for my brother’s wedding. They originally wanted white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but the inflated price of macadamia nuts made this choice infeasible. I tried several different nut combinations, and we chose pistachios. They were a big hit at the reception!

Ivy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

6 ¼ C. (30 oz) Bread Flour

2 tsp. Baking Soda

2 ¼  tsp. Salt

2 ¼ C. (20 oz) Butter, Soft

2 C. (15 oz) Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed

2 ¾ C. (13 ¼  oz) Sugar

2 ¼  tsp. Vanilla

5 (8 ¼  oz) Eggs

5 C. (27 ½ oz) White Chocolate Chips*

2 ½ C. (10 oz) Pistachios, Chopped*

 Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10-15 minutes. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

*Any chocolate or nut can be used. Have fun with new combinations!

Chicken Parmesan

This is a go-to dinner for us. It is very easy and comes together rather quickly.

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken:

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 ½ C. Italian Bread Crumbs

¼ C. Grated Parmesan

1 Tbsp. Oregano

1 Tbsp. Basil

1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

1 C. Flour

2 Eggs

Marinara:

2 (15 oz) Cans Hunts Tomato Sauce

1 tsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

¼ C. Grated Parmesan

Finishing:

1 ½ C. Shredded Mozzarella

1 lb. Pasta

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet (or the bottom of a heavy saucepan), until they are about 1/2-inch thick.

Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Mix the bread crumbs, parmesan, oregano, basil, and garlic powder in a third bowl.

Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs.


Heat olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. When the oil is hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.

Meanwhile, combine the marinara ingredients.

Fill the bottom of a baking dish with one half of the tomato sauce. Place the cutlets on top of the sauce. Ladle the remaining tomato sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F for 15 seconds.

Serve over pasta.

Cinnamon Rolls

I generally detest cinnamon, with only one exception – cinnamon rolls. I think that it may have something to do with the copious amounts of icing that typically drowns out most of the cinnamon taste.

When I saw this recipe, the maple icing intrigued me, and was a big factor in why I chose to make it with my standard cinnamon rolls. If you wanted to stick with the more traditional vanilla icing, simply omit the coffee and replace the maple flavoring with vanilla extract.

This makes a lot of cinnamon rolls, so unless you are going to a large event or plan on giving them away, you may want to halve (or even quarter) the recipe. A full recipe results in forty rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:

4 C. (32 oz) Cold Water

2 ½ Tbsp. (1.65 oz) Instant Yeast

22 ¾ C. (5 lbs) Bread Flour

6 ¼ C. (20 oz) Cake Flour

1 C. (4 oz) Powdered Milk

5 ½ tsp. (1 oz) Salt

1 ¾ C. (12 oz) Sugar

2 C. (16 oz) Butter, Well Softened

10 Eggs

2 tsp. Cardamom

Filling:

2 C. Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Maple Frosting:

2 lb. Powdered Sugar

2 tsp. Maple Flavoring

½ C. Milk

¼ C. Melted Butter

¼ C. Brewed Coffee

⅛ tsp. Salt

Mix the dough ingredients together on low speed for approximately 6 minutes until a smooth dough is formed. Allow the dough to rise for 1 ½ hours, covered in a lightly oiled bowl.

When the dough has risen, punch it down. Cut the dough in half, and set one half aside. Roll the dough out into a 24x32 rectangle, or smaller if needed.

Brush the surface with melted butter. Sprinkle half of the filling mixture evenly on top of the dough. Roll-up tightly to form a 32" long jelly roll.

Crimp the edges when finished rolling. Cut into 1 1/2" pieces. Repeat this procedure with the remaining dough.

For individual rolls: Grease a high-sided baking pan. Place the cut rolls 2" apart on to the greased pan. Making sure each roll is evenly spaced. Press down on each roll to slightly flatten. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

For pan rolls: Grease several high-sided cake pans. Place the cut rolls evenly spaced, but not touching, into the greased pans. Press down on each roll to slightly flatten. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

Bake at 350F degrees for 25 minutes, until golden brown.

For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls.



Source: Icing adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (Ree Drummond)